BCBusiness

edu cat ion 52 To p a n d r i g h t : U V i c P h o t o S e r v i c e s B C B U S I N E S S . C A A P R I L 2 0 24 "We knew that we had to think very carefully about exactly what our role was and how we needed to show up in every interaction that we have with the lab systems." —Craig Ivany, chief provincial diagnostics officer, Provincial Laboratory Medicine Services HEL PING H A ND Many employers help cover the costs when their team members choose to take profes- sional development courses. When organi- zations need to have everyone reading from the same page, they can take advantage of custom corporate or executive education programs offered across the province. Craig Ivany is the chief provincial diag- nostics officer for Provincial Laboratory Medicine Services. His agency integrates and coordinates public and private medical labs across B.C. Ivany wanted his team to boost their skills so they'd be great collabo- rators and partners with the independent members of the province's lab ecosystem, while also meeting the Ministry of Health's objectives. PLMS doesn't direct those orga- nizations—they're autonomous. "We knew that we had to think very carefully about exactly what our role was and how we needed to show up in every interaction that we have with the lab sys- tems," Ivany recalls. PLMS weighed numerous custom educa- tion options and landed on the service lead- ership program founded by Mark Colgate at the Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria. Why would a provincial health bureau- cracy seek guidance from business experts specializing in something called service leadership? It might not appear at first glance to be a natural fit, Ivany acknowledges: "Many people in lab medi- cine are very skeptical of folks outside of their realm." But Colgate and his colleagues work with government agencies, as well as with businesses and NGOs—basically, anybody who deals with clients or customers. "We help raise their game in terms of the quality of service that that they deliver," explains Colgate. He says organizations find alignment when they focus on client experience, and become more effective with their resources: "You're more efficient at deliver- ing service, you're more reliable, you make fewer mistakes, you're more accurate, you get less rework and fewer complaints." PLMS has just started working with the service leadership program, but Ivany is ready to incorporate the ideas Colgate pre- sented as some of his organization's defin- ing traits. "Boy, oh boy, he really connected with our team—really understood what our needs were," Ivany says. "He delivered a very compelling case for us to think about our world differently; to look at our world through a different lens." Ivany says his people quickly grasped the value of becoming a customer-centric organization, and of building a culture of accountability. "We know it's the right path for us, given our mandate," he explains. ISLAND LIFE UVic's Gustavson School of Business service leadership program helps companies and students alike

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